Jeb Bush spoke of “friends undefended” and “alliances unraveling”

Late on June 15, former governor of Florida Jeb Bush formally announced his intention to run for the US presidency on the Republican ticket. At a rally in Miami, Bush, whose father and brother had been US presidents, said: “I will run to win,” pledging to put the country on the right track. He also said he would use his experience of public administration gained in his time as state governor to overcome the negative political culture prevailing in Washington and ensure transformation of the US into an economic superpower.

Bush harshly criticized Democrats, who are holding the White House and, according to the candidate, are not going to change anything and plan to slog on with the same agenda under another name. “They have offered a progressive agenda that includes everything but progress. They are responsible for the slowest economic recovery ever, the biggest debt increases ever, a massive tax increase on the middle class, the relentless buildup of the regulatory state, and the swift, mindless drawdown of a military that was generations in the making,” he stressed.

Bush believes that many of the challenges facing the country can be overcome through economic growth. He said that his goal as president would be attaining four percent GDP growth, which would bring new jobs. Bush also referred to his own experience creating jobs and small businesses in Florida. The state leads the union by this measure. “Overall 1.3 million new jobs, 4.4 percent growth, higher family income, eight balanced budgets, and tax cuts eight years in a row that saved our people and businesses 19 billion dollars,” the former governor of Florida said listing his achievements.

The Republican candidate said that thanks to North American resources and American ingenuity, “we can finally achieve energy security for this nation – and with presidential leadership, we can make it happen within five years.”

Bush harshly criticized foreign policy of the current administration. “From the beginning, our president and his foreign-policy team have been so eager to be the history makers that they have failed to be the peacemakers. With their phone-it-in foreign policy, the Obama-Clinton-Kerry team is leaving a legacy of crises uncontained, violence unopposed, enemies unnamed, friends undefended, and alliances unraveling. This supposedly risk-averse administration is also running us straight in the direction of the greatest risk of all – military inferiority. It will go on automatically until a president steps in to rebuild our armed forces and take care of our troops and our veterans. They have my word – I will do it,” he underscored.

Let us recall that Bush offered a more detailed foreign policy vision during his recent European tour. He called Russian President Vladimir Putin a “bully” and said the US and its allies in Europe should be resolute in responding to Russian aggression. “There are things that we could do given the scale of our military to send a strong signal that we are on the side of Poland and the Baltics and the countries that truly feel threatened by the little green men and this new cyber warfare.” He also stated the need to hold exercises in Poland and the Baltic states. “While the Kremlin deployed tens of thousands of troops in areas near US allies, the response from Washington was far less meaningful,” he stressed.

COMMENTARY

HIS WATCHWORD IS “FREE ENTERPRISE AND FREE PEOPLE”

Oleksandr TSVIETKOV, professor, Diplomatic Academy of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, Kyiv:

“Since these speeches mark the beginning of the contenders’ marathon race, all political analysts, both within the country and abroad, pay attention to them. The US is such a country that it is necessary to follow this race, because foreign and domestic policy issues come to the fore during it.

“About a dozen Republicans have stated their intent to take part in the presidential race, as compared to four Democrats. Just as predicted by opinion polls, Hillary Clinton and Jeb Bush lead the Democratic and Republican fields, respectively. By the way, Jeb is an acronym, standing for John Ellis Bush. His campaign slogan back in 1998 was ‘Jeb for Governor,’ and he won then. By way of analogy, Bush has reused this slogan, now sounding as ‘Jeb for President 2016.’ It fits the American spirit, with its fondness for short and easy-to-pronounce forceful names.

“Bush had a pretty good start. He has got quite good conditions, uniting and linking the money and connections of the South, Texas and all time-honored Washington contacts of his family. It helps him, even though he stresses that he is not his father or his brother, but stands alone. This sounds fine for the American audience as well.

“Overall, his watchword is ‘free enterprise and free people.’ He wisely addressed Latin American immigrants in Spanish, promising to facilitate their stay in his state and in the US in general. Bush said he would defend traditional conservative values and restore America to its previous glory. His speech’s strong points were promise to simplify the path to citizenship for immigrants and pay more attention to education. It was because of this that he launched his campaign in a college, for lyceums and schools saw much improvement on his watch as Florida’s governor. Besides, he probably sees restoring the Bush family’s good name as a major objective.”